For Everything A Reason
by Cerafine
Summary: Set between season 3 and just before the start of season 4, at the prison. Beth and Zach have been an item for several weeks, sneaking off for some romantic time. Bad thing about close quarters; it's easy to get busted. Part 1 of a short chapter series. Rated M for language, smut, etc. Please read and review!


**READERS: WARNING, there will be smut in this story. Quite a bit of it, as a matter of fact. It will be part of a short chapter series, so here's the first one for you. Please review and let me know what you think of it so far. Enjoy! :)**

For Everything A Reason

By Cerafine

The blistering Georgia sun had begun to set on the western horizon, but it was still witheringly hot, offering little relief for the occupants of the prison who were unlucky enough to be stuck outside on fence duty or in the watch towers. Beth knew it wouldn't cool down enough to evaporate the sweat from her brow until well after midnight, if at all. Huffing in disgust, she wiped her face and trudged to the fence line, looking through the familiar faces for Zach.

Catching sight of him near the end of the group, she called, "Zach!" and jogged over to him.

The light green shirt he had put on that morning was now dark green all over, soaked with sweat. He stabbed his tool of choice for the day, a sharpened golf club handle, through the tough chain link fence and straight through the deadened gray eyeball of a snarling walker, dropping it like a sack of flour on the outside of the fence. Seeing Beth trotting towards him, he lowered the club handle and mopped sweat from his forehead with the back of his work glove, giving her a bright grin as she approached. Backing away from the fence, he met her and kissed her on the forehead, leaning his body away as he did so.

"Might not wanna touch me, babe," he said in his city accent, which Beth found charming. "Got 6 hours worth of work-sweat and walker-splatter on this hot sexy bod of mine." He raised an eyebrow and gave her a half-smile to let her know he was kidding. "Whatcha got goin' on right now? You done for the day?"

She nodded, handing him a capped bottle of water. "Brought this for ya. Yeah I'm done, Annie wasn't feelin' too good after bein' in the heat for so long yesterday, so she's on strictly indoor duty today. She's inside with the baby. Been helpin' Rick in the garden and cleanin' up the pens."

Gratefully taking the water, he wrinkled his nose. "Gross. I'll take walker-splat over pig crap any day, you're more of a man than I am. Props." He dodged a smack on the arm from her, laughing. "Kidding."

She scowled at him and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Are you ever serious about anything?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Just you."

"Right, I can see that," she said, smiling. "Well when you're done here, get serious about gettin' cleaned up and meet me in the rec room."

The 'rec room' was just what everyone called the prison cafeteria and common area, simply because it had ping-pong tables and was big enough for everyone to fit in for announcements and meals. For Zach and Beth, it had a hidden meaning- the rec room to them was actually code for the prison records office, a small side-office room full of file cabinets and a large oak desk. It was never locked, but no one went in there for anything, so it was their own private place.

They had stumbled upon it by accident, trying to avoid Hershel so that they could have a quiet dinner together; he didn't approve of them being alone together at any time, so they were trying to sneak their food away from the kitchen and find a place to hide. On their way down the hall once they had heard someone coming, so Zach hurriedly flattened against the wall, pulling Beth with him, and fumbled for the nearest doorknob, spilling them into a dark, dusty room. They stayed in and ate together sitting cross-legged on the floor, Beth's flashlight on between them to illuminate the room as they flirted over their dinner of canned peaches and powdered mashed potatoes.

From that day on, for the next 4 weeks, it had been their place. No one bothered them, even if they stayed for an hour or two. They usually stole away early from work or in the middle of meal times, sometimes at night when no one was watching the halls. Whenever Hershel was preoccupied were the best times.

At her mention of the rec room, Zach's green eyes lit up and a wide, infectious wolf-grin spread across his face. Blowing his rumpled brown hair off his forehead with a forceful breath, he winked at her conspiratorially and said, "You know I'm in. Be there in an hour."

She blushed at his wink and turned to walk back, calling over her shoulder, "See ya there."

Beth was relieved and fervently glad that her father assumed he was protecting her virtue, but it was no longer there to protect. She had left that back at home at the farm with Jimmy, a couple of weeks before Rick tore across their fields and into their yard with a pale, bloody Carl in his arms, sobbing and begging for them to help his boy.

Beth had loved Jimmy, in her own way, and she still missed him sometimes. Finally giving in and letting him take her virginity was, to be blunt, a totally unromantic event. She was bored, and he was bored, and she was 17. It had been a convenient circumstance at the time. He was her first love, her first kiss, the first boy who had shown her any attention in school. She had been used to kind of camouflaging with the background. Maggie had always outshone her when it came to attention, because her sister was a knockout. Beth, in her own mind, felt she was a washed-out, faded copy of her mom; pretty in a nondescript, blonde, skinny type of way. Maggie was an unstoppable force of nature, feisty and beautiful in an in-your-face, impossible to ignore way. People's eyes were always drawn to Maggie when they were out together- Beth had always felt like an afterthought, a wispy side-story to Maggie's heroic presence. Maggie didn't purposely make her feel that way. She had always done her best to praise her little sister and celebrate her accomplishments and quiet personality, gently encouraging Beth to come out of her shell and shine. Dating Jimmy had been her first attempt at being more outgoing, at the behest of her stubborn sister.

When she had agreed to have sex with Jimmy for the first time, she had barely been excited about it. It was a new experience, of course, and his first time too- but the thought of being with only Jimmy, with no other choice of who she could date or marry in the future, was depressing. They hadn't even had much in common. When she shared these thoughts with Maggie, her older sister had looked at her with a mixture of sadness and smug knowing and declared, "Welcome to adulthood. Love ain't a fairytale, Bethie."

"It sure ain't," she muttered under her breath, heading back into the blessedly cool darkness of the prison. Making her way to her cell (A lot of people didn't take kindly to them being called "cells," but Beth had never referred to it as a "room," which made some folks happier. She thought a cell was a cell and a spade was a spade, so she called it what it was.), she stopped by Glenn and Maggie's first to say hi. She hadn't seen them all day, which likely meant they had been screwing around in the watch tower for most of it. She stifled a grin at the thought and peeked into the cell cautiously, afraid to interrupt. Those two were seriously like rabbits.

Glenn wasn't inside, but Maggie was sitting on the edge of her bunk, washing her hands with a wet rag. Looking up, she smiled when she saw her sister and said, "Hey. Whatcha up to?"

Beth sat down next to Maggie and said, "Been busy today? I looked all over for ya."

Maggie's eyes widened innocently. "Me? I was workin' all day."

"In the watch tower?"

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't believe that I was working?"

"If that's what they call it nowadays."

"Beth!" Maggie tried to look indignant, but the stern expression fell apart at the smirk on Beth's face and they both dissolved into giggles. "Okay, okay. I wasn't workin' the _whole_ time. But you hush."

"Your secrets are safe with me."

"I know, Bethie. Thanks."

"Speakin' of which..." Beth eyed Maggie critically and then went on. "I need a favor. If Daddy or anyone comes lookin' for me tonight, tell 'em I'm showering. Or tell 'em I'm cleaning up in the library. Just cover for me, will ya?"

Maggie cocked her head and nodded. "You've been askin' that a lot lately. Things gettin' a little more serious with Zach? You know you can tell me," she paused, waiting for details.

Beth squirmed under her curious gaze. "I guess so. I like him, a lot. He's funny, and smart. He thinks I'm the greatest." She smiled, thinking of his cute attempts at hitting on her when he first arrived at the prison.

"Wasn't he the one with the inappropriate, lame pickup lines?"

"Yep, that's the one."

They laughed again, then Maggie said, "Beth, you know I'll cover your ass with Dad. Just don't let him catch you or hear from someone else about you and Zach. You know he'll raise hell."

"I know, but I did turn 18 last month."

"You think that matters?" Maggie laughed. "I'm 23 and still have to hide from Dad. I'll be hiding it from him till I'm in my 30's!"

They both grinned, quieting as they realized that making it to their 30's was an unlikely prospect.

Maggie looked her over thoughtfully. "You look happy, Beth. Are you happy?"

"I am. He makes me feel like there's hope."

"Then I'll cover for you as long as I need to. Go have fun with your sweetheart." Maggie smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Maggie. Love you."

"Love you more."

Beth stood and gave her sister a little wave before continuing to her cell. She grabbed her toiletries from under her bunk, a ziploc bag with toothpaste and toothbrush, shampoo, soap, deodorant, and a razor. Plucking a folded, worn towel and a change of clothes from the stacks of laundry on the top bunk (what she referred to as her 'dresser'), she trudged down the hall to the shower room.

A look at herself in the full-length bolted metal mirror told her she definitely needed some sprucing up. "Ugh," she recoiled, tossing her stuff on the counter. She turned on the water, which never really got hot enough for her, stripped off her sweaty, reeking clothing to toss them in a pile on the tile floor, wrapped her arms around herself, and stepped under the spray.

She pulled the white plastic curtain closed behind her and closed her eyes, letting the water wash the dirt and sweat from her face. She sighed happily and searched for her soap, then realized she had left her bag of stuff on the counter. "Damn it!" she hissed, annoyed. She left the water on and stepped quickly out, putting her towel around herself as a cover.

She hop-stepped the distance to the counter with wet feet, water running off of her and pattering onto the tile floor. She grabbed her stuff and quickly turned back around, ready to pull the towel off and hang it from the towel bar on the wall before getting back in-

And smacked into someone. Hard. Gasping and stumbling back, water dripping from her hair and running down her face, she pulled the towel tighter around her and stared at the intruder who stood between her and the running shower.

"Well, look at you," Nick exclaimed in admiration. "I gotta say, I had hoped I'd see you like this one day, but I had different plans for it." He leered at her, making her stomach turn. Nick was harmless, but she didn't like him and this sealed the deal for her. He was always staring at her, always trying to talk to her, and he went as far as bad-mouthing Zach in front of her to get her attention. Now he was following her into the shower room to ogle her? _Gimme a break,_ she thought, irritated. _This guy is desperate. _

Nick really wasn't a bad-looking guy. He was black-haired with dark eyes, tall, taller than Zach, and built like a football player, with broad shoulders and a thick neck. Glenn and Sasha had found him on a run, scavenging for food in a gas station, about a month ago. He had seemed totally nice and well-mannered at first, but he had been on his own for a long time. He was grateful to be safe with a group and eager to fall in line to stay there. Everyone else seemed to like him all right, but the longer he was there, the more suggestive and persistent he was towards Beth. He had clearly done the math and figured out that there were only a few girls close to his age at the prison and they were all taken. Knowing Beth and Zach were a new couple, he was trying to move in on her. He didn't bother to conceal it from other folks, either.

She hadn't said anything to Zach or Rick or her Dad about him making her uncomfortable. Beth didn't want him thrown out of the prison because he had a thing for her. She felt sorry for him because she knew he must be lonely, and was hoping that after enough times of politely declining his advances, he'd just give up and the awkward conversations would cease. It wasn't happening, though.

"Keep your plans to yourself and imagine someone else," she said in a clipped, strained voice. "Sorry, but can you please move out of the way? I'm trying to get back in." She was trying not to glare at him, unsuccessfully.

"Ouch," he said, his nearly black eyes feigning hurt. "That isn't nice, Bethany. What do I need to do to get your attention? Why do you go for that sloppy clown and not me?" He cocked his head, not moving out of the way.

"I don't 'go for' him. Zach and I were together before you got here, Nick. I'm happy with him. And my name is _Beth._ Please move so I can get in." She narrowed her eyes and tried to edge around him, but he slid to the side, blocking her way again.

"Is it because I'm too old?" He asked, growing quiet. His eyes were burning holes into her.

"No," Beth said, exasperated. "Zach is 22. You're 25. It ain't your age. It's that I'm just not interested." She tried to soften her voice, with tremendous effort. "I'm sorry. I just don't think of you that way."

Stone-faced, he took a step towards her. "I could fix that. If you'd give me one chance, I'd make you see what I could do. You'd never want anyone else after me." He looked her up and down. It made her skin crawl.

She didn't want to seem afraid of him, but he was getting too close, so she backed up a step, clutching the front of her towel to her chest. "I'm sure for another girl, that'll be true. But it ain't gonna be me, Nick. Sorry." She drew herself up to her 5'5'' height and gave him a commanding stare. "Now. I've asked twice, nicely, for you to move so I can get back in. Nice doesn't seem to be working, so I'll try another way. Get out of my way." She had raised her voice enough that it was echoing through the tiled shower room.

Nick's face twisted into a snarl and he took two more menacing steps towards her, backing her into the edge of the counter. He was standing pressed against her now, his hands balled into angry fists at his side. He glared down into her face, inches from his now, and hissed, "Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking mutt, Bethany. It doesn't bode well for you."

Beth felt her heart hammering against her ribcage like a frightened bird. _Now look what ya did,_ she thought shakily. _You made it even worse. You couldn't just be polite, could you? Had to shoot your mouth off. And you're all alone in here. No one can hear you. _

Darting glances around the large room, her stomach tightened with dread as she realized it was true. No one was around, and he was over twice her size and build like a brick shithouse. She tried to stay calm and said, "You're right, Nick. I shouldn't have been rude. But you're makin' me nervous. Can you please let me get into the shower? I've been workin' all day outside, and I'm tired and dirty and not in the mood for this."

It was like night suddenly switched to day on his face. "Sure," he said, backing slowly away, his hands raised in a "who, me?" gesture of surrender. "I wasn't trying to freak you out. Go ahead and get in, I won't stop you." He stood next to the shower curtain, his arms crossed, eyebrows raised.

Beth realized with dismay that he wasn't going to leave. Did he really expect her to just take her towel off in front of him and get in? _I could just get in with my towel on and then take it off behind the curtain,_ she thought suddenly. But what was stopping him from pulling it aside and looking at her? Or from coming in there, for that matter? What was she supposed to do, nail the freaking curtain shut?

She gave him a freezing cold look. "Please leave," she said through gritted teeth. Her patience was gone. She was going to lose it.

"See, you never said you wanted me to leave. You just said to move out of the way. Very misleading." He smiled, a sick, shark-like smile that was all white teeth. His eyes were predatory and calculating.

"Well, now I'm saying it. I'm asking you to please, _please_ go."

Again, he was across the small space and in her face in a flash, that smile still frozen on his handsome face. "I think you can be more sincere than that. Try again." His dark eyes were as hard and dead as obsidian. He was toying with her.

"Nick," she said in a quiet, coiled voice. "Will you please leave so I can shower? Please."

His smile grew wider. "I think I like the sound of you saying 'please'. Let's see how many times I can get you to say it, okay?"

Beth felt hot, scared tears building up behind her eyes and she squeezed them shut to keep them from overflowing. Her throat grew tight and was aching. She didn't know what to do when something like this happened-

"What's goin' on in here?"

Beth's eyes flew open and she craned her neck to see around Nick, relieved to hear a familiar voice. Nick took a huge step away from her, startled, and turned around to look too.

Daryl Dixon stood just inside the doorway to the shower room, his face a blank mask. His eyes went from Nick to Beth, and he must have seen something alarming in her face, because he detached himself from the doorway and strode purposefully into the room to stand a few feet away from her. "There a problem I can help you out with?" he said, an edge to his tone as his clear blue eyes cut into Nick.

Nick smiled broadly, though Beth could see he was shaken by Daryl's presence. "Not at all, was just having a friendly conversation with Beth here." He smiled at her, all traces of psychotic behavior gone from his demeanor. "Everything's fine-"

"I doubt Zach or Hershel would want you in here," Daryl said, cutting him off. "She ain't dressed. Get lost."

Nick's eyes raged for a moment, then they calmed and his face smoothed out again. "Excuse me, but it's really none of your damn business what we do-"

"I said fuck off," Daryl snapped, his voice still quiet. "Don't make me say it again. And hey," he said as Nick retreated, "don't let me see you around her again neither. That's your warning."

Nick shot his eyes over at Beth, a look of panicked anger on his face. Then he gave Daryl an unreadable gaze, cast his eyes down at the floor, and nodded curtly. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the shower room.

Beth let out the breath she had been holding, gripping the edge of the counter behind her. She had successfully fought back the tears. She didn't cry about much these days, even if it was all she wanted to do.

Daryl had followed Nick to the doorway and was watching him leave down the hallway until he disappeared around the corner. He turned and looked at Beth, his face still expressionless but his eyes watchful. He gestured to the doorway with one hand and said, "You wanna tell me what that was about?"

Beth shook her head and then sighed. "He's been followin' me. Sayin' weird stuff. Usually I'm nice, today I got fed up and was rude because he wouldn't let me get in the damn shower. He got a little aggressive. He's mad I won't give him a chance."

She had averted her eyes as she revealed the problem, and now she looked back up at Daryl. She snapped her mouth shut and swallowed hard at the look on his face.

He had walked a few steps closer, his head cocked as if maybe he hadn't heard her correctly, and his eyes were narrowed into slits, his mouth a hard line, his jaw clenched. "How long's this been goin' on?" he asked, his words tumbling out rapidly. "Zach ain't gonna do nothin' about this?"

Beth shrugged. "This is the first time he's gotten scary with it. I never said anything to Daddy, Rick or Zach because I didn't wanna get him thrown out on the road. It'd be my fault."

"It'd be no one's fault but his own," he said sharply, shaking his head at her.

"Like I said, this is the first time he was like this. Usually he's nice, just persistent."

"Probably 'cause this is the first time he's caught you by yourself somewhere."

He was probably right. Beth shivered despite the heat and crossed her arms over her chest. Her hair was damp and she was still dripping water onto the tile.

Daryl nodded at the still-running shower and looked at her. "Go ahead, get cleaned up. You worked your ass off today." He turned to leave.

"Everybody did," Beth protested, looking reluctantly back at the doorway.

Daryl glanced back, following her line of thought, and raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't be scared of that prick. Get in there, I ain't goin' nowhere. I'll stay out here and keep watch." He turned his angel-wing emblazoned back to her and stood just outside the doorway, his body posture relaxed.

_If he's not worried, then neither am I,_ she thought, feeling 100% safe with Daryl standing guard for her. She stepped in with her bag, removed her towel, and was finally able to get back to her damn shower.

Zach kissed her deeply and she entwined her fingers in his untidy hair, still damp from the shower. "You ever brush this mop on your head?" she teased, kissing him again.

He ended the kiss and said indignantly, "Hey, it takes a lot of work to make my hair look like I don't care what it looks like. Don't insult my methods." Giving her the lazy, lopsided smile that she loved, he slowly ran his hand up her hip, over her flat belly, and cupped her breast, his hand still on the outside of her clothing. This was what she loved about him; he never assumed she wanted him to do anything, always waited for her to give him the go-ahead.

"I want it off," she whispered in his ear, and she felt him shiver with delight. He loved it when she told him what to do, thought it was hot. He leaned back and quickly pulled the t-shirt over her head as she held her arms up for him.

He looked at her, standing in front of him in her blue cotton bra and faded jeans. She kicked off her boots, leaned her butt back against the huge oak desk, and gave him a small "come here" curl of her finger to get him going. He went. When he got close, she sidestepped him and pushed him back into the desk, kissing him as she undid his belt and pulled his jeans down. She slid down his body, keeping her eyes on his, and took him into her mouth, slowly sucking him. He drew in a sharp breath and let out a groan, leaning his head back as she worked him. "Beth," he blurted out, "Goddamn. Oh my god."

Smiling to herself, she kept up her rhythm, giving special attention to the sensitive area just below the head of his cock. She could feel him grow harder and bigger as she flicked her tongue against that spot.

"Stop," he choked out, pulling her to her feet. "That's not fair. You're gonna make me go before we even get started."

"You'd be ready again 15 minutes later," she said with a teasing smile, "but okay. What do you wanna do now?" She waited, her blue eyes wide. She knew what he would say.

"Take your pants off," he said hurriedly. He watched her unbutton her jeans, then he jerked them down to her ankles with both hands and pulled them off her, tossing them back behind him. She laughed and lay back on the desk, bending her knees and pulling her feet up to the edge. He let out a soft breath and sank to his knees in front of her as if to worship her, putting his hands on her knees and parting her legs.

The next second, she felt his mouth hot on her core and she drew her legs up and sighed, feeling his tongue stroking her softness. She tangled her small fingers in his hair and tugged lightly, pulling him in closer. He increased the pressure of his mouth on her by gently sucking, and she trembled with the feeling of it. Zach was much more experienced than Jimmy had been, in every way. He had been a college student for four years before the Turn though, which explained a lot. He had probably been getting laid at least 3 times a week, maybe by different girls.

Even though she was enjoying his oral attention immensely, she couldn't help feeling that something wasn't quite right. She would tell him, but didn't know how. He could bring her to an orgasm, but it took him a long time; longer than it should. And usually Beth was so sweaty and frustrated by the time she got there, it almost wasn't worth it; she had to pull out all the stops and imagine sex with some amazingly beautiful man from the movies to help her along. She wasn't bold enough to do more than moan and pull him closer when he was doing something right; she didn't want to flat-out tell him that he was doing it wrong. So she let him have at it, and eventually (usually) she got there.

She thought she heard a noise over by the door, and she jerked her head to the right, staring at the doorknob across the room, hoping it wouldn't open. _Nobody ever comes in here,_ she thought, terrified. _What if this is the night someone does? _

After a few seconds of holding her breath, she let it out in a whoosh when she realized no one was coming in. Looking down at Zach, hard at work between her thighs, she smiled and leaned her head back, her blonde hair brushing the oak desk as she sighed and let herself relax again. He was doing something right at the moment, because her legs were trembling and she felt an uncontrollable moan escape her lips.

After a few minutes, she stopped him, not wanting to wait this time. "Come here," she commanded, and he did, putting his hands behind to her back to unclasp her bra and flinging it behind him with a boyish grin. "I love doing that," he said, kissing her.

"Well I love when you do this," she whispered, scooting her butt to the edge of the desk and guiding his cock to her opening. When he entered her, she sighed at the feeling of him and he groaned, thrusting hard into her. He sped up, not prone to using any kind of finesse with his rhythm, pounding into her as she held onto his shoulders. He cupped both of her small breasts in his hands and leaned his head down to suck one pink nipple into his mouth. She threw her head back as he tongued the sensitive skin, reveling in the feeling of it. As her head fell to the side, she opened her eyes and her heart stopped, her breath temporarily stolen.

The door of the rec room stood open, and she could see a tall, familiar figure standing in the shadows, watching them.

The small amount of moonlight pouring in through the high window of the room glinted off of his blue eyes and he held her gaze, watching as Zach fucked her. His eyes were narrowed. She could see the pale light shining on his crossbow, where it hung in its familiar position over his shoulder. He stood utterly still and his eyes drifted over her, seeing Zach claiming her body. He did not look away, only watched them.

Beth felt her heart go triple-time, feeling like it would pound out of her chest, hearing it thundering like hoofbeats in her ears. Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-THUD-THUD. She felt light-headed and her face felt as if it were on fire; she knew it must be beet-red. She squeezed her eyes shut, mortified. _Busted,_ she thought, dismayed. _What'll Daddy say when Daryl tells him what I'm up to? He'll probably want Zach kicked out of here. At the very least he'll forbid any contact between us. We won't be able to do this anymore. _She felt her heart drop. There wasn't much left to enjoy in life. Judith filled her days with smiles and baby laughs and light, but she was so lonely before Zach had come into her life. She wasn't going to say she loved him, because she knew she didn't yet, although it could grow into that eventually. She cared deeply for him, that was as much as her guarded heart would allow for now. The thought of being separated from him made her feel despair slowly creep over her. _And not just that,_ she thought, horrified, _how are you ever gonna face Daryl again after he's seen you like this? _

Zach kissed her neck and his breathing grew rapid as he pulled her closer to him, deepening his thrust and bringing her back to reality. She almost stopped him but decided against it, knowing it might be their last time for the foreseeable future. Pulling him close, she kissed him hard and felt him tense, pulling out of her and groaning loudly as he released his orgasm into his hand.

Beth opened her eyes and looked quickly over to the door. Daryl was gone.


End file.
